SENSE OF SOUND

The ear is the organ concerned with hearing. The ear has three parts: the outer ear,
the middle ear and the inner ear. The ear is the organ of hearing. The outer ear
protrudes away from the head and is shaped like a cup to direct sounds toward the
tympanic membrane, which transmits vibrations to the inner ear through a series of
small bones in the middle ear called the malleus, incus and stapes. The inner ear, or
cochlea, is a spiral-shaped chamber covered internally by nerve fibers that react to the
vibrations and transmit impulses to the brain via the auditory nerve. The brain
combines the input of our two ears to determine the direction and distance of sounds.

The inner ear has a vestibular system formed by three semicircular canals that are
approximately at right angles to each other and which are responsible for the sense of
balance and spatial orientation. The inner ear has chambers filled with a viscous fluid
and small particles (otoliths) containing calcium carbonate. The movement of these
particles over small hair cells in the inner ear sends signals to the brain that are
interpreted as motion and acceleration.
 SENSE OF SIGHT

The eye is the organ of the sense of sight. Eyes detect light, and convert it to electro-
chemical impulses in neurons. The eye is the organ of vision. It has a complex
structure consisting of a transparent lens that focuses light on the retina. The retina is
covered with two basic types of light-sensitive cells-rods and cones. The cone cells are
sensitive to color and are located in the part of the retina called the fovea, where the
light is focused by the lens. The rod cells are not sensitive to color, but have greater
sensitivity to light than the cone cells. These cells are located around the fovea and
are responsible for peripheral vision and night vision. The eye is connected to the
brain through the optic nerve. The point of this connection is called the "blind spot"
because it is insensitive to light. Experiments have shown that the back of the brain
maps the visual input from the eyes.
 SENSE OF TOUCH

The skin is the largest organ of the body, with a total area of about 20
square feet. The skin protects us from microbes and the elements, helps
regulate body temperature, and permits the sensations of touch, heat, and
cold. The epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, provides a waterproof
barrier and creates our skin tone.
The skin contains general receptors. These receptors can detect touch,
pain, pressure, and temperature. Throughout your skin, you have all four
of these receptors interspersed. Skin receptors generate an impulse when
activated, which is carried to the spinal cord and then to the brain.
The skin is not the only tissue in the body to have receptors, however.
Your organs, which are made of tissues, also have receptors. Joints,
ligaments, and tendons contain proprioceptors, which detect the position
and movement of the limbs.
 SENSE OF TASTE

The senses of smell and taste work closely together. If you cannot smell
something, you cannot taste it, either. Taste buds on your tongue contain
chemoreceptors that work in a similar fashion to the chemoreceptors in
the nasal cavity. However, the chemoreceptors in the nose will detect any
kind of smell, whereas there are four different types of taste buds, and
each detects different types of tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
 SENSE OF SMELL

The nose is the organ responsible for the sense of smell. The cavity of the nose is lined
with mucous membranes that have smell receptors connected to the olfactory nerve.
The smells themselves consist of vapors of various substances. The smell receptors
interact with the molecules of these vapors and transmit the sensations to the brain.
The nose also has a structure called the vomeronasal organ whose function has not
been determined, but which is suspected of being sensitive to pheromones that
influence the reproductive cycle. The smell receptors are sensitive to seven types of
sensations that can be characterized as camphor, musk, flower, mint, ether, acrid, or
putrid. The sense of smell is sometimes temporarily lost when a person has a cold.
Dogs have a sense of smell that is many times more sensitive than man's.